Talk:Riothamus
A full study of Arthur should include the history of Brittany's Sovereign House. According to a king list, Riotham(us), also written as Riatham, was the hereditary ruler of the dominant state of Domnonea (northern Brittany) between about 460 (Ashe estimated 454) and the early 500s. So, his was a long reign. His father King Deroch I had sent the Armorican archers to aid Aetius against Attila the Hun who was besieging Aurelianum (Orleans) on the Armorican/Roman border. Riothamus's son Riwal "Deroc/Ferox" ("the Obstinate/Arrogant") reigned until 520. Domnonea was named for Dumnonia, a strong state in southern Britain that had survived from pre-Roman times. Dumnonia stretched from Cornwall to Hampshire: Winchester was one of its major towns. Given the frequency of trade and military expeditions between Armorica and Britain recorded by Julius Caesar, a practice that continued throughout the Middle Ages (and to which Brittany Ferries is an heir), it's very plausible that - materially, culturally and financially - Riotham had the means to rule on both sides of the Channel. A pivotal influence on the development of 12th century Arthurian Romances in both England and France was the 11th century figure Count Alan Rufus. A member of Brittany's ruling family, he was also the commander of William the Conqueror's household knights. Contemporaries, both Norman and English, had the very highest opinion of Alan's character. In one legend, King Arthur and his knights were discovered asleep under Alan's Richmond Castle. He clearly chose its location deliberately, because it stands in central Britain above the section of the Swale where the Northumbrian king was baptised and for this reason the Swale has been called "the Holy River of Britain". In modern times, a cache of Roman coins was discovered at the base of the castle. Richmond is strategically located high above the Roman road from York to Scotland and is close to Catterick, the largest military base in Britain and the site of the Roman fort of Cataractonium which sent supplies to the troops at Hadrian's wall. Sir Lancelot's affair with Guinevere may be based on Alan's relationship with Gunhild, a daughter of Harold and Eadgifu. In the mid-1090s, after Alan's death, Gunhild wrote to (Saint) Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, declaring that she had loved Alan, and he had loved her. Count Alan Rufus died on 4 August 1093 and was buried close by St Edmund's shrine at Bury in Suffolk, by Baldwin, the physician to Edward the Confessor and William the Conqueror. Alan Rufus's epitaph is of great interest. A Latin poem in seven-lines of couplets, technically its form is Leonine Hexameter. It reads: Vixit nobilium: praefulgens stirpe Brittonum. Stella nuit regni: comitis caro marcet Alani. Anglia turbatur: satraparum flos cineratur. Iam Brito flos regum: modo marcor in ordine rerum. Praecepto legum: nitet ortus sanguine regum. Dux uiguit summus: rutilans a rege secundus. Hune cernens plora: « requies sibi sit, deus » ora. This can be translated as: In life he was noble, of glittering British stock, A star in the kingdom, Count Alan's flesh now withers. England is deeply troubled, for the fairest of magnates has turned to ash. Now the flower of the kings of Brittany marks the natural order of things. He was a shining officer teacher of the law, in whom ran the blood of kings, A leader who thrived and reached the highest ranks, his glory was second only to the King. Weep for seeing this, and pray "May he rest in peace, O God". The Latin verse has multiple layers of meaning. Note in particular the adjective "rutilans": shining with a red-gold glow. The Breton aristocracy claimed consanguinity with several Roman figures, including Julius Caesar whose grandmother was Rutilia of the family Rutilius Rufus. Rutilia's daughter, Caesar's mother, was Aurelia Cotta of the family Aurelius Cotta (sic). The Aurelii were a gens of plebeian origin but rose to consular rank quite early in the Roman Republic, and many emperors over the centuries were Aurelii. One cannot help but be reminded of Ambrosius Aurelianus, the fifth century British leader whom Gildas wrote in an uncharacteristically admiring way and whose parents he said had "worn the purple". Grdtobin (talk) 05:08, March 22, 2015 (UTC)